The Ultimate Autobot Hunter: Part 3
2k5 2 - Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 10:43 PM ------------------------------------------- Darkmount - Master Control Three tiers of semicircular counters equipped with workstations and chairs look down upon a wall of larger monitors. The room is always filled with the clicking and beeping of typing and data transmission. Most of the staff are Cybertronians instead of drones; the work of coordinating the security, maintenance, fuel and resource distribution of the planet is beyond the limited capabilities of Shockwave's drones. Contents: Starfighter <'Cyclonus'> Obvious exits: Out leads to Darkmount - Atrium. The space fighter's nosecone snaps back as its body flips upright. Arms and legs unfold from the wings and fuselage respectively, and a dour face emerges from the body, forming the robot mode of Cyclonus! When Shockwave finally has time to meet with Cyclonus, the latter is sitting in Darkmount's Master Control, sitting behind a workstation. Upon one of the screens is a monitor displaying the new Predaking, as shown from several surveillance drones which were undoubtedly watching the action. On another screen is footage of the old Predaking, and the Predacons individually at times. Cyclonus glowers at both screens, looking rather non-plussed--though that doesn't mean much with him. Shockwave enters Darkmount as soon as his preliminary repairs to his pet have begun. Predaking received heavy damage in his fight with Sky Lynx (and the others), and Shockwave doesn't want to give the Autobots time to rebuild their infrastructure at the Highroad. Spying Cyclonus at the Master Control station, Shockwave heads in that direction. The screens make it clear what this discussion is going to be about. "The damage to Predaking is superficial. It can be repaired and his mission continued. Four Autobot hideouts were destroyed, as well as a caravan of Crystal City refugees attempting to reach Iacon," Shockwave says pre-emptively. "All very well and good, Shockwave," Cyclonus rumbles before turning to the cyclops. "What I don't see is how the original Predaking would not have sufficed to inflict such devastation." He points angrily at said original Predaking. "Look at him, Shockwave! That was our finest combiner. Out of all of them, he was the least crippled by his components' various mental disorders. He was a terrifying force to be reckoned with and had no true equals among the Autobots. WHAT exactly was wrong with him that made you, supposedly the most logical of Decepticons, decide to reformat him into a slathering brute!?" One of his brows arches sharply. "I can share the numbers with you," Shockwave says in a matter-of-fact manner, optic flashing to a steady beat. "Reaction time, coordination, and overall mental speed has all been improved. He may have lost some higher functions, but they do not affect his overall performance. Furthermore, Predaking is now able to operate seamlessly together permanently without ever needing to disassemble into its component parts." Pronouns are getting tricky now. "The Predacons were selected because, as you say, his mental merging was already at a level where the procedure could be completed. The Stunticons would not have survived, the Combaticons have their uses as individuals, Abominus is a failure, the Constructicons are vital to the war effort in Logistics rather than the Military, and Stratocons were never a team long enough for the operation to be viable." Cyclonus rises from his chair, glaring at Shockwave. "Razorclaw was a capable commander, Shockwave. He brought a much-needed asset to our planning sessions--patience. And individually, the Predacons could give even the Dinobots quite a difficult time." He stares back at the screens. "But now we have this creature, which does not even seem sapient any longer. I am not even sure if we can control it, or give it complex commands. Or does it only understand 'Sit' and 'Stay'?" "Razorclaw's sacrifice has been duly noted," Shockwave replies. No, Razorclaw was never given a choice. Once this all goes belly up the Predacons are going to have every reason to twist Shockwave into a pretzel, but Shockwave is confident it will never come to it. "Beyond him, however, none of the other Predacons are a significant loss as individuals. As for Predaking, its ability to receive orders is sufficient. It has been successful in patrolling the area outlined by its mission parameters and terminate any Autobot found. There is some manner of leeway that must be granted in its decision-making, however the results speak for themselves: these were four Autobot hideouts that have gone undetected by conventional Decepticon Intelligence for vorns." "Four Autobot hideouts, you say?..." Cyclonus rumbles, sitting back in his seat, settling into a posture much like the one on his wiki picture. "Nnngh. Well. If you're attaining results heretofore unprecedented..." He pauses, considering something else. "AND we are having quite some difficulty suppressing the dissidents in Crystal City... hmmm... Shockwave, it may be that I have been hasty in judging you so harshly. *May.* But I will expect nothing less than the finest performance from your creation from now on. It had better work and work well." Shockwave has no ego, and so he accepts Cyclonus's compliment (?) without any hint of satisfaction. To him, he merely pointed out the facts and Cyclonus gave the logical response. This is how it should be, and this is why Shockwave much prefers dealing with Cyclonus over Galvatron. "I understand, Cyclonus. The Autobots are on the defensive again for the first time in months, and I am fully prepared to expand on that success. As well, in the unlikely event that Predaking prove to not be viable, I may be able to revert the process." Oh oh, that's the first time Shockwave ever said 'may be able' in regards to this. Up until now it's always been 'certainly can'. Cyclonus hms. "May be able? I suppose that's better than 'can't'. Well. I shall monitor your creation's progress Shockwave." He turns back to his workstation, changing the display to review various reports and signaling the end of the conversation. "I will send you all relevant data," Shockwave replies. He too is not the sort to say 'thank you for your time'. Turning, Shockwave heads for the exit. He and Buzzkill have a lot of work to do in order to reassemble and reinforce Predaking's wing structure.